The Effect of a Patient Activation Tailored Intervention on Type 2 Diabetes Self-Management and Clinical Outcomes: A Study from Saudi Arabian Primary Care Settings

Background. Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a global public health challenge. T2DM self-management, including diet, physical activity, blood glucose self-monitoring, foot care, and adherence to medication, is considered a primary tool for managing diabetes. Patient activation, an individual’s knowledge, skill, and confidence in managing their health and healthcare, was recognized to be associated with better T2DM self-management and clinical outcomes. Patient activation intervention has been described as a potential approach for enhancing chronic disease self-management. This study is aimed at examining the effect of a patient activation-tailored intervention on T2DM self-management and clinical outcomes in primary care settings in Saudi Arabia. Method. A pre- and postintervention study was conducted among ≥18 years old T2DM patients attending primary healthcare centers in Saudi Arabia. Collected data included demographics, clinical data, the Patient Activation Measure (PAM), the Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities (SDSCA), the diabetes knowledge test (DKT2), the problem area in diabetes test (PAID-5), and the diabetes quality of life test (DQOL). The intervention was tailored based on the participants’ patient activation level. The intervention consisted of monthly face-to-face sessions for three months and a telephone follow-up per month for three months postintervention. Descriptive statistics, a paired sample -test for scale variables, and Wilcoxon’s signed-rank test for categorical variables were used for data analysis. Results. A total of 82 patients, mostly female (61%) with a mean age of years old, completed baseline and postintervention surveys. After six months of intervention, there was a significant change in patient activation score from 54.74 to 61.58 (), hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) from 8.38 to 7.55 (), and body mass index (BMI) from 30.90 to 29.16 (). Also, there was a significant change in SDSCA scores (diet from 3.12 to 3.67, exercise from 2.54 to 3.49, and blood glucose self-testing from 2.37 to 3.24) () and DKT from 6.29 to 7.22 (). Conclusion. Our findings suggested that tailoring interventions based on patients’ activation levels is more likely to yield promising T2DM self-management and clinical outcomes.